Mormon News Archive
The media has spent a lot of time on the Book of Mormon Musical, a Broadway production people either love or hate. The reviews have often demonstrated the biases of the reviewers. One rejoiced that the musical showed that religion believes in a lot of silly things (not just Mormonism, but all religion). Another suggested the message was that blind faith is a sin, with his unspoken message being that religious faith is always blind. A Jewish writer argued that Jewish people, with their great knowledge of the dangers of religious persecution, should speak out loudly against the musical. Other writers have noted that the musical attacks all religions, even though it focused on only one. Some have noticed it is an inherently vicious portrayal of Africans, mocking their poverty and suffering.
The official statement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a single sentence:
“The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening,... Read the rest of this entry »
In 1830, the first copy of the Book of Mormon was published. Recently the 150 millionth copy was printed. Today, it is translated into 82 languages and is selections have been translated into 25 more languages.
The Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible for Mormons. It is used with the Bible and its purpose is outlined in the subtitle: “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” In the Book of Mormon, we learn that a few small group of Jews were sent to the American continent by God. In just a brief time, the primary group, known as the Nephites, were forced to move away from another group, the Lamanites. The leaders of these two groups were brothers, but one was evil and one was a prophet of God. The Lamanites had as their goal to destroy the Nephites and all memory of them.
Throughout the generations, the Nephites had prophets, as did the people of the Old Testament. They learned that God loves all His children, not just those who lived in the Holy... Read the rest of this entry »
In the 2010 General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (whose members are often informally called Mormons), Mormons were called on to provide a day of service. These will happen at the ward (congregational) level or at the stake (similar to a diocese) level at various times over the coming year. The events are to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the start of the Mormon welfare program.
Days of Service have become a popular activity for Mormons around the world. Through the Helping Hands program, Mormons in signature yellow shirts show up during catastrophes to help with repairs and cleanup. They also plan days to serve a community when there is no emergency need. During these times, they might paint community centers, clean up historic but neglected cemeteries, gather food for a food bank, or improve a local school.
The Day of Service concept, while often done informally by individual congregations, became a more formal... Read the rest of this entry »
Recently, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, spoke to Mormon teachers and leaders at the Church Educational System fireside about teaching as a Christ-like activity. President Uchtdorf is the second counselor to the Mormon prophet.
President Uchtdorf said, “The call to teach is an opportunity to follow Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher.” He offered five suggestions to help teachers educate students spiritually in a manner that is pleasing to our Savior, Jesus Christ:
Center our teachings on Jesus Christ in order to help our students center their lives on Jesus Christ and grow in their love for Him.
Teach truth. He instructed teachers to not be afraid of the truth. Teach it with courage and teach it so clearly it won’t be misunderstood. Focus on the core doctrine.
Teach by the Spirit. The Holy Ghost has the power to testify to listeners of the truthfulness of what is being taught. He also knows what the students need to... Read the rest of this entry »
This year, Mormon Sunday School classes for adults and teens and the Senior Primary children who are ages eight to twelve are studying the New Testament. All Primary children—those ages 3 to 11, will have a sharing time (a time when a number of classes meet together to be taught by their leaders) focusing on the truthfulness of scripture.
The Sunday School classes and senior Primary are on a four year rotation system. Each year they study one book of scripture—Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon and Church History/Doctrine and Covenants (a book of modern revelation). The Senior Primary, the teens, and the adults study the same book of scripture at the same pace but at their own level. This allows families to come together after church and during the week to discuss what they’ve learned and lets parents reinforce those teachings.
Younger children, ages four to seven, are on a two year rotation, covering two books of scripture in one year,... Read the rest of this entry »
Mormon leaders recently signed an interfaith document reaffirming a commitment to traditional marriage. The document was signed by leaders from the following faiths: Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Evangelical, Jewish, Lutheran, Mormon, Orthodox, Pentecostal and Sikh.
The statement reminds readers that marriage is not just a religious principle, but a principle that is critical to all of society, since it is the natural foundation for families and is the best way to provide a stable upbringing for children.
“As religious leaders across different faith communities, we join together and affirm our shared commitment to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We honor the unique love between husbands and wives; the indispensible place of fathers and mothers; and the corresponding rights and dignity of all children.” Read the rest of this entry »
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, released Book 2 of their administrative handbook to the leaders of the Church and also placed it online for the general public to view, a move that is rare in the religious word. This particular handbook is generally given only to leaders at various levels of the Church. Handbook 1 is only for bishops and stake presidents (Bishops are similar to pastors and stake presidents are similar to the bishop of a Catholic diocese).
The Mormons are a lay church and ordinary members are assigned specific roles to play, usually without in-depth training. As a result, the handbook helps them learn their responsibilities and the rules they are to follow. The handbook also outlines selected policies and teachings of Mormon beliefs. Read the rest of this entry »
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Recently an article appeared on AOL News that reported a Mormon chapel in Haiti was not allowed to be used for refuge during the flooding from Hurricane Tomas. The author portrayed the church as unwilling to help anyone but themselves, entirely neglecting to note the Church’s exemplary humanitarian work in that nation.
The Church issued a statement of context to help readers understand the full story. While most Mormon buildings were being used as hospitals and shelters, the particular building mentioned was taken by the government to use as a command center. The leader of the congregation did not realize he might have been able to convince the government to allow them to also set up shelters. Once the building was taken over by the government, he appears to have felt it was entirely under their control. Mormons use lay leadership and many leaders in Haiti are new to the church themselves and have minimal experience in dealing with these types of situations.... Read the rest of this entry »
The Mormon Church in the Seattle area of Washington State in the United States is helping the Red Cross with a special project known as “Yes, We Can.” This project makes use of surplus produce that would otherwise be thrown away. The Red Cross has no way to store or preserve this food and can’t give it away quickly enough. Now, the Mormons are helping them to can it so it can be stored for up to three years.
Mormons have canneries they use for their own membership. Members can come in, and for the cost of supplies, can food to be stored for emergencies like unemployment or a natural disaster. In addition, the Mormons can foods to be given to church members who are in need of a little help in hard times. Surplus food is given to community food banks.
Mormon beliefs state that they should do whatever they can to be self-sufficient. They store food for emergencies, avoid debt, build savings, and live modestly. However, even a person’s... Read the rest of this entry »
In the October 2010 General Conference, a semi-annual world-wide meeting for Mormons, Boyd K. Packer gave a talk which generated some controversy. It has been widely reported as a talk on homosexuality, but was in reality a talk on a proclamation on families issued by the Mormons a number of years ago. In this talk, he also addressed pornography, honoring marriage vows, and chastity. He focused on the ability of people to choose repentance and then to succeed in their sincere efforts to repent and their ability to be forgiven for past sins.
In order to understand why the controversy is misguided, one must understand some important principles concerning how the Mormon Church operates. Elder Packer is an apostle. The president of the Church and the prophet are roles both filled by Thomas S. Monson. President Monson is assisted by two counselors. He and the counselors form the First Presidency of the Church. Next is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, of... Read the rest of this entry »
